BOX SCORE Flash Points:

• SFU Women's Tennis fell 5-2 against Youngstown State on Friday in Monroeville.
• The Red Flash dropped a tight doubles point, but won two singles matches.
• Miller and Tamarkin earned singles wins at No. 4 and 5, respectively.
• The Red Flash is off for a couple weeks before returning to action on March 16 at St. John's.

MONROEVILLE, Pa. – The Saint Francis Women's Tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision against Youngstown State on Friday at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.  SFU dropped a tight doubles point and won two singles matches.  The Red Flash is now 1-8 this Spring, while the Penguins improved to 4-7 overall.
 
In the match at No. 1 doubles, sophomore Laura Gutierrez (Bogota, Colombia/Cibercolegio UCN) and freshman Nastasia Tamarkin (Washington, D.C./School Without Walls) took on YSU's Imaan Hassim and Sofia Macias.  The Red Flash duo earned a 6-3 win to improve to 4-4 this spring.
 
At No. 2, junior Stephanie Miller (Washington, D.C./St. John's College High School) and sophomore Lucia Seigford (Madrid, Spain/Mirasur) met the Penguins' Noelly Nsimba and Tamara Teufl.  In a tight set, Miller and Seigford fell 7-5.
 
Youngstown State won the match at No. 3 doubles by default due to no SFU player available.
 
"I was very pleased with how we came out in doubles," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "We played very smart, aggressive doubles and put ourselves in position to win both matches. It's unfortunate we weren't able to come out with a win at No. 2 after being up 5-2 and having a match point. But I think we are doing a good job of putting ourselves in position to be successful."
 
Miller competed against YSU's Hassim at the No. 4 singles spot.  The SFU junior dropped the first set, 6-2, but responded with a 7-5 win in the next set.  In a super-tiebreaker third set, Miller came out on top, 10-4.  She is now 5-3 this Spring.
 
Tamarkin took on the Penguins' Teufl at No. 5.  The Red Flash rookie claimed the first set, 6-3, but Teufl won her own 6-3 set in the second frame.  In the deciding set, Tamarkin won 10-7 to move to 5-3 in dual matches. 
 
At No. 1 singles, Seigford met YSU's Nsimba, but fell 6-2, 6-1.  Gutierrez faced the Penguins' Macias at No. 2, but dropped a 6-0, 6-4 decision.
 
Junior Raksha Bode (Reunion, Fla./Florida Virtual School) matched up against Youngstown State's Anastasiia Khokhlva at No. 3.  In the first set, Bode fell 6-3, but she bounced back to win the next set, 6-4.  In the final set, Bode fell 6-2.
 
The Penguins won the match at No. 6 singles by default due to no SFU player available.
 
"I was pleased with how singles went, especially our bottom half," said Castille. "Youngstown State is a very good, deep team, and we had chances to win three of the five singles matches. I'm happy that Steph and Nastasia were able to get the 'W'. They'll take a lot of confidence from this match. We're off for a few weeks and will work hard on several things and be ready for our matches after Spring Break."
 
The Red Flash travels to New York in three weeks for a pair of matches.  SFU will take on St. John's on Friday.  The Red Flash faces St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday for its NEC opener.
 
Doubles:
1. Gutierrez/Tamarkin(SFU) def. Hassim/Macias(YSU), 6-3.
2. Nsimba/Teufl(YSU) def. Miller/Seigford(SFU), 7-5.
3. Khokhlova/Stroe(YSU) won the match by default (No SFU Player)
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
 
Singles:
1. Nsimba(YSU) def. Seigford(SFU), 6-2, 6-1.
2. Macias(YSU) def. Gutierrez(SFU), 6-0, 6-4.
3. Khokhlova(YSU) def. Bode(SFU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
4. Miller(SFU) def. Hassim(YSU), 2-6, 7-5, 1-0(4).
5. Tamarkin(SFU) def. Teufl(YSU), 6-3, 3-6, 1-0(7).
6. Moraleja(YSU) won the match by default (No SFU Player)
Order of Finish: 6,1,2,3,5,4